Predictors of Language Outcome for Children Born Preterm: Implications for Early Intervention

There is ample evidence that children who are born preterm are at risk for language impairment [1-3]. However, not all children who are born preterm will experience difficulty developing language. Why some children have a language impairment and others do not may be owed to the presence of certain risk factors, as well as the absence of particular protective factors. It is possible that different combinations of risk and protective factors may result in negative or positive outcomes for the child born preterm.